I need to be less ambitious with my travels next time
I flew into Manila, Philippines from LAX and took another flight to Cebu airport. For transportation I ordered a driver off the Grab app and got a ride to Travelbee Business Inn. You can pay the driver with cash and not add your credit card to the app. If you didn’t download the Grab app in advance, there is an office at Cebu airport where you can order a Grab driver as well. Grab drivers are much more budget friendly then taking a taxi.
At the hotel, I went out to get something to eat, but since I arrived on Holy Week nothing was open but Jolibee. As I was returning from Jolibee with my dinner and heading back to my hotel room the bellman laughed at me because I was so confident in the direction I was walking in, only to find out that I was walking into the hotel kitchen.
The hotel was budget friendly, had minimal necessities which met my needs, offered free drinking water, and the bellman was so kind that I wouldn't mind booking here again if I were to return. In both Philippines and Indonesia it is recommended to not brush your teeth and drink water from the faucet, so every hotel I booked had free drinking water.
The next morning I took a Grab to Cebu South Bus Terminal, paid a 20 peso fee for the car to enter the terminal, and bought a ticket to Moalboal for 250 peso. There was no waiting. I boarded the bus immediately and we departed within the next 10 minutes.
Traveling to and from Cebu City to Moalboal was very easy. It is a very common, well-organized route by locals and takes about 3-4 hours each way.
Once I arrived at the Moalboal bus stop I was mobbed by locals offering trike rides. I declined the offers because I wanted to go to the Moalboal Visitor Center, which turned out to be nothing but a tour booking office. So I returned to the bus stop and got on a trike to Marcosas Cottage Resort. On the way to the resort there was some kind of city or road fee for 25 peso to cross.
Marcosas Cottage Resort was my favorite place to stay.
My place had a small kitchen and the way it was decorated brought me back to that feeling from childhood, e.g., comfort and basic. The fact that internet could only be accessed from the hotel lobby made it even better, forcing me to stay off my phone, go to bed early and wake up early like I use to.
I highly recommend to not book any tours online or in advanced. There are many vendors around the area that offer common tourist activities, so I found a vendor and told them I wanted to do the canyoneering at Kawasan falls and they told me to show up tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. at the same place. You do not pay on the spot. You pay on the day of when they take you to the destination.
The next morning I was running a little late to arrive for the tour and didn’t exit the hotel lobby until at exactly 9 a.m. At that same moment the guide showed up on his motorcycle and whisked me away to the bus that was heading to Kawasan Falls.
When the driver dropped me off at the bus I met a bunch of girls and ended up chatting with an Egyptian girl that was also traveling solo, and we stuck together on the tour.
There’s an additional fee of 600 peso to take a zipline to the start of the tour or you take a free 45 minute walk to get there.
I was petrified the entire time because I didn’t know how deep the water would be. But once it was over, I felt like I needed to redeem myself and do this again.
Overall the experience wasn’t bad, but it could have been better. I didn’t feel rushed, but my guide was moving me along and didn’t allow me to stay in one spot for too long. So these are my tips for doing any popular activity in Cebu: 1) go early to avoid crowds, the earliest time they offer is 6 a.m., 2) pinch your nose and point your toes when cliff jumping!
The next day, I got a guide to take me snorkeling at Panagsama beach around 7 a.m. It was great. We saw turtles and sardines. My guide was great. He was a young man with excellent diving skills. His video recording skills were awesome and he had a good sense of humor. Really enjoyed snorkeling with a guide to help me with swimming, this is how I should always do it!
For snorkeling I’d also highly recommend going early, at 6 a.m. if possible because shortly after 7 a.m. the crowds began rolling in.
The day prior to departure, schedule a trike to go back to the Moalboal bus terminal so you won’t be waiting in the hotel lobby for an available driver.
Once I was back in Cebu City my next stay was Caza De Sierra. I will never book a room here ever again. The hosts are very kind and sweet, but the facility it self was very questionable. I think my driver was even concerned for me when he dropped me off. I ended up finding another nearby hotel more to my liking, and the owners at Caza De Sierra gave me a free ride to Felicity Island Hotel. The only thing I didn’t like about this place was the loud music playing early in the morning.
From Cebu City I had an overnight layover in Singapore to Indonesia so I booked a free Singapore city tour and slept at the airport.
BALI, INDONESIA
Transportation: Gojek
Hotel: D Sarian Seminyak (enjoyed this hotel)
Activities: Snorkeling tour at Nusa Penida booked online 1 day in advanced with Lembongan watersport
Review: The experience was great, food was delicious, got to see manta rays, they are so big and beautiful, and the boat ride alone was also fun! Guides were informative and they provided life vest and life buoy.
Lessons learned: get your own life buoy because I ended up with 8 people hanging on to 1 life buoy when I could have just got my own when looking at the manta rays. Use a life vest and life buoy because the waters are rough and the extra buoyancy is helpful.
Goddess surf retreat: great pampering experience, 1:1 personal assistance, availability of food, and unlimited massages
Snorkeling: Blue lagoon, Jemeluk bay
Rip Curl School of Surf: great informative instructors that taught you what to correct, what you are doing wrong and why, great attitudes, patient and catered to my needs, left me with that feeling you get when you experience a community that shares one common interest
Surfing locations: Sanur Beach surf, Kuta Beach surf
Memorable experiences: 1) I’m glad my instructor noticed I needed a challenge and gave me a shorter board, 2) I went to a Rip curl store and ended up talking to one of the staff instead. He was a young boy who was telling me how he anyways wanted to go snowboarding in the U.S. but it was so expensive. I told him to save his money because you have time and you are young, 3) Our driver at the retreat was HILArious! 4) The locals here are great; I can see why people like traveling here
